Seasonal Revolutions
by SoA
Summary: Banished from their home world in a past life, the Cryo Clan finally seeks to return and seek revenge, but they must find the pieces of the Makyuutowa to activate the portal first... and the portal could destroy the world!
1. Episode 1

The Song of Fall, a New Senshi!

It had been a boring summer after the destruction of Mugen. There had been no word from Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, or Hotaru since the night of its destruction. Makoto was glad to be back at Crossroads Jr. High. She'd at least be with her friends.

There hadn't been any stirring of evil since the Witches 5 and the Death Busters. As much as she wanted to be a normal girl, she missed being a senshi and fighting evil.

As she waited for her two friends, Ami and Usagi, and for the bell to ring that signaled the start of class, she watched the many Crossroads students file into the school. There were also a few students in Mugen green and burgundy nervously entering the school. One girl with long bright green hair which, entirely clashed with her Mugen uniform, gave Makoto and uneasy stare and turned to whisper with her three friends.

Another group of ex-Mugen students moved up behind the group with the green-haired girl. One girl from the second group who had a large bun on the back of her head of brown hair that was almost orange gave the green-haired girl a friendly pat on the back , said some sort of greeting, and laughed nonchalantly. The green-haired girl forced a smile and replied in an equally forced friendly manner, then shooed the girl with the bun and her friends in Makoto's direction.

Seeing Makoto, the brown-haired girl gestured towards her three friends and walked purposefully over to Mako. "Hello!" She said cheerfully, "I'm Imahodo Kashi, and I'm new here. So are my friends. So I guess it's good for us to make new friends. What's your name?"

"Err... my name's Makoto Kino. Pleased to meet you. You're all from Mugen, right?" Makoto replied, slightly startled.

"Pleased to meet you too. I'm Hayaru Akari. Yea, we're from Mugen. I bet you could tell by the uniforms. I'm getting a Crossroads one right after school today." A shy girl with dark green hair slightly shorter than Minako's and an ovular bun on top of her head answered. She looked remarkably like a younger version of Setsuna. She was probably the most composed of the four Mugen girls.

"Nice to meet you too, Hayaru. You're going to fit right in. I don't have a Crossroads uniform, because they don't come big enough," Makoto answered cheerfully.

"Do you think I'll fit in too?" A strawberry-haired girl demanded. She was relatively short and had shiny, dark pink hair that hung down just past her shoulders. It seemed that she had a temper which dramatically contrasted her hair color.

"Err... well... I guess..." She stammered, but was cut short by Imahodo.

"Mokuhi! Over here!" Imahodo hollered across the school yard, not caring that she had caused people to stair at their group. A girl with long, strait, black hair that was the same length as Rei's looked up and grabbed the wrist of a studious looking blue-haired girl, then pulled her across the school yard to Makoto, Imahodo and her friends.

"Ami-chan! I see you have found a new friend," Mako Inquired, gesturing towards the black-haired Mugen girl.

"Yes this is Mokuhi Anrui. She's really nice, and likes a lot of the same things I do," Ami said cheerfully.

"Nice to meet you." Makoto nodded her head in a polite bow as a greeting to the newcomer.

"And, Mokuhi, I see you have made a new friend. Ami, is it? This is Makoto. She is also very kind," the last girl piped in cheerfully. She had strait, dark yellow hair that wasn't quite long enough to touch her shoulders.

Her blue eyes danced happily.

"Yes. I'm Ami Mizuno. And who might you be?" Ami replied.

"I'm Toukan Konsui," she answered simply, yet cheerfully.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Hyakka Sujou," the strawberry-haired girl added abruptly.

"Ami, this is Imahodo," Mokuhi gestured to the girl with the bun, then to the shy mini-Setsuna, "and this is Hayaru."

"A pleasure to meet the both of you," Ami said in her ever-friendly manner.

Makoto looked at her watch and sighed, "Usagi, she can never be on time can she?"

"Usagi? Is that another friend of yours?" Imahodo asked.

"Yes," Ami answered, "She's always late and doesn't get very good grades. She doesn't work all that hard in school."

The quintet of girls groaned.

"What? Usagi is our best friend," Ami inquired confused.

"She doesn't work hard at school!" Hyakka said frustrated.

"She's always late..." Imahodo repeated Ami's words.

"Which means she's never punctual..." Hayaru gathered.

"She worries about other things more than academics... most likely boys..." Toukan inferred.

"Which leads us to believe... she's a ditz," Mokuhi concluded the statement, as the other four girls nodded emphatically.

Makoto sighed. "You guys sure get a lot out of just one statement."

"So we're right?" Imahodo prodded anxiously.

"Sadly, yes... but Usagi is a very good friend of ours and very kind," Ami sighed a reply.

"Yes!" Imahodo bounced up and down excitedly, looking very immature for her age, "We got it again!"

Ima-chan can't be much better than Usagi. She is acting no better, Makoto thought, but kept it to herself. She looked at her watch again. "We really should get going. The bell is about to ring."

"'Kay!" Imahodo said cheerfully, and pulled out her schedule as she and the other six girls headed towards the

door.

They were all in their classes when the bell rang and Ami heard a familiar voice wail, "Wahhh!!!!!!! I'm late!!!!!!!!"

By the end of the day, Ami, Makoto, and Usagi were stunned to find out that the five girls they had met earlier that day were as excellent of students as they made themselves out to be and better. Imahodo gave Ami a run for her money in science, Toukan was just as good as Ami in Math, Hayaru was already teacher's favorite and top of the class in writing and spelling, Hyakka was an expert in geography, and Mokuhi was better at martial arts than Makoto. The five Mugen girls were horrified to find out that Usagi was even more of a ditz than they had gathered.

The seven girls cheerfully headed out of school, but Imahodo, Hayaru, Toukan, Hyakka, and Mokuhi made sure to keep someone between them and Usagi. The five Mugen girls had gotten five new Crossroads uniforms each. All but Imahodo had folded them neatly and placed them in their book bags, who had wadded them up and stuffed them into her satchel.

"You going to come to practice at my house today?" Mokuhi asked Imahodo.

"No thanks, Makoto already invited me to go to study group with her, so I'm taking up her offer. Though, definitely tomorrow, okay," Ima answered seriously.


	2. Episode 2

Chibiusa has a New Friend! Naru is in Trouble!

"We must find the pieces! We cannot return unless they is ours."

"Yes, but aren't they in a person?"

"Of course. They will be in a person with much talent. It is what gives each person their talents."

"But how can we find them?"

"The holder will always have much talent, powers, and wisdom. Now look at this."

"Is that our target?"

"She doesn't seem all that special."

"Ahh, but she is. Who will check her for the rings and sphere from her?"

"I will, Kai."

"Good, Kashrai. Don't fail us."

"I won't."

"The girl is smart, and has many friends. She also seems to have been attacked often by other monsters in the past. She must be special somehow..."

"Now go. We don't want to waste any time."

"Yes Kai."

Makoto struck the brick wall with her fist. _What's wrong with me? I can't just trust Imahodo or any of her friends yet. We invited her to study group, and a Youma appeared on our way there. She knows too much! She and her friends must have done something to us to like them right away! They can't be trusted!_ Makoto hit her fist against the wall again.

"Mako-chan? Are you all right?" Naru, who paused near her, asked.

"Yea, I'm fine, but..." the tall brunette answered, still vibrating with confusion.

"We should probably get to class, Ami was here early, and you know that Usagi will be late," Naru giggled.

Makoto laughed back, "You're probably right. Let's go."

The two girls headed up the stairs and into their class: Modern Japanese. Makoto settled herself in a desk in the middle of the room while Naru sat behind her. This was, by no means, her favorite class. Not a minute later, a familiar, small, dark green-haired girl sat down in the desk next to her.

"Makoto!" the quiet girl, Hayaru, exclaimed, "Did you finish last night's assignment?"

"Uh..." she stammered, "To tell you the truth, I didn't understand it. I mean, we had study group and all, but Ami was so busy helping Usagi with her math, I never got a chance to ask her about it."

Hayaru gave her a measuring look. "You know," she began, "you really shouldn't totally depend on her to help. I can help you for this class and several others any time."

"Really?!" Makoto said, almost jumping from her seat, "We've got a few minutes before class starts... so would you care to show me how to do these?"

"It would be my pleasure," she answered with a small smile and proceeded to help the taller girl with her homework.

The bell rang and their teacher entered the room, giving the class a scrutinizing look. "It seems that you all are here," he said, adjusting his glasses, "Please pass your assignment from last night forward. Then I will pass back the exam from last week and go over the results."

The students passed up their papers and waited quietly as their teacher passed back the exam. When she had finished, Makoto turned to Naru and asked, "So what did you get Naru-chan?"

"Well," she stammered and blushed, "Ninety-eight."

"Wow!" the tall brunette laughed nervously, "I got a seventy-three."

"Don't worry, Mako!" Hayaru said in her soft voice, "I can help you out and you'll do much better next time."

Slightly irritated by the gentle girl's last comment she said, "So what did you get, Miss Perfect?"

Ignoring her sarcasm, Hayaru replied in her same gentle voice, "Ninety-eight."

"I guess you do know what you're talking about, girl!" Makoto said cheerfully, "Both of you are much better at this than I am."

"With a little studying, you could get better," Naru reminded her.

"True..."

Usagi, Rei, Makoto, Minako, and Ami walked down the sidewalk towards Usagi's house, where they would be having study group for the afternoon because Rei's grandpa was having some special guests and didn't want any disturbances, chatting cheerfully.

They were only a few blocks away from Usagi's when they heard some guitar music coming from not far away.

"Hey you guys!" Minako exclaimed, "Do you hear that? It's go a really nice beat. I've never heard a song like that before."

"Yea," Rei agreed. "Let's go check it out!"

"Wait!" Ami called as the two girls took off at a sprint. They stopped about a block down in front of a house with an open garage. They looked shocked for a few seconds and soon the other girls found out why. Imahodo, followed by Hyakka, strolled out of the garage to meet Rei and Minako.

"Imahodo and Hyakka were making that music?" Ami asked no one in particular.

"Let's go!" Usagi urged, so she, Ami, and Makoto, sprinted down to see them.

"Hey Usagi, Makoto, Ami!" Hyakka said cheerfully, "What are you up to now?"

"We're studying," Ami said, equally cheerfully, "But we heard some really neat music and wanted to check it out."

"Really neat music?" Hayaru asked, bashfully, strolling out of the garage, "You really liked our music?"

"Of course!" Rei answered emphatically, "What's it called?"

"Ima hasn't come up with a fitting name yet," Mokuhi commented lazily, toying with a pair of drumsticks as she came out of the garage, Toukan following her.

"Wow!" Minako exclaimed, "You write your own music too!"

"Well," Imahodo answered, "I guess..."

"That's really cool," Makoto commented, "Could you play it again for us?"

"That would be no problem," Hyakka nodded, "Come on guys! We've got an audience." The short, strawberry-haired girl strode back into the garage and picked up a sleek, white electric guitar.

"Fine," Imahodo sighed nervously and headed into the garage with the rest of her group. She picked up a small, black, vertical flute off of a near-by stool. Meanwhile, Mokuhi returned to the drum set, Hayaru armed herself with her beautiful, black bass guitar, and Toukan took her place at the keyboard.

"You guys all ready?" Hyakka asked placing herself near the orange-haired girl. The other four nodded.

"Alright then!" Mokuhi said then counted off, coming in on her drums with an interesting beat, "One, two, ready, go!"

The guitars started right in with a simple riff and Toukan played some cords on the keyboard. Finally, Imahodo came in on an intricately flowing melody on her flute. Soon she took the flute from her lips, took a deep breath, and began singing while Hayaru took up a quiet harmony.

"_So I see your face-_

_The wind whispers to me._

_It pulls me away-_

_Away with destiny._

_What have I to say?_

_Do I follow the flow of life_

_Or fight it to find you?_

_I'm alone._

_So alone._

_The wind spirals around me_

_I feel so isolated._

_So I reach out to you-_

_So I see your face-_

_The wind whispers to me._

_It pulls me away-_

_Away with destiny._

_What have I to say?_

_I wish for ease-_

_So the wind carries me_

_Far from you._

_Far away._

_I take back my wish_

_But the wind pays no heed._

_Maybe this wasn't to be._

_So I see your face-_

_The wind whispers to me._

_It pulls me away-_

_Away with destiny._

_The wind carries me away..._" Imahodo's voice faded away almost in a whisper for the final line. She put the vertical flute to her lips again and finished the song with the same melody, only more melancholy, as in the beginning. When the flute faded out, Hyakka completed the song with several dramatic cords.

"That's amazing!" Minako said, in awe as the others applauded.

Imahodo blushed and smiled broadly, "Thanks. It's only my third song."

"That's great," Rei agreed, "So you're a band?"

"Yup," Toukan said lazily from a stool by her keyboard, "We're called Revolution Return."

"Hmm," Ami pondered the meaning of their name, "I don't mean to be rude, but we really should let you practice and get to our own studying."

"Too true," the black-haired drummer commented loudly, "We won't be keeping you!"

"We'll be seeing you around!" Usagi said and she and her friends exited the messy garage and headed for Usagi's house.

Usagi sat in her room with the rest of her friends, her mind far from studying. The conversations topics had left that long ago, but neither she nor any of the other girls could get the song that Imahodo had just sung out of their heads.

"... We need to know more about this new enemy," Ami pointed out logically, even she had abandoned the homework.

"It is aggravating that we always start out with so little knowledge about our enemy," Luna commented, "Nothing I can find mentions anything about creatures like you saw. We don't even know what they want yet."

"It would be so much easier if they would just come up to us, introduce themselves, explain their history and motives, tell us what they want and if we can give it to them, leave," Rei said sarcastically, "Come on you guys! Name one of our enemies that has been cooperative!"

"I guess you're right," Makoto said and sighed, "It _would_ be so much easier if it were that way."

"No kidding," Minako said from her perch on Usagi's bed, then couldn't resist to insert one of her proverbs into the pause, "You know what they say: 'Nothing ever comes firstly!'"

"Um," Ami said, a sweat-drop of embarrassment slid down the back of her head, "Minako-chan, I believe that it is 'Nothing ever comes easily.'"

"Oh, right, right!" Minako said waving her hand in dismissal, "You know what I mean."

Usagi's mind had wandered beyond the conversation. Absently she hummed the tune of the memorizing song she had heard not to long ago. As her mind drifted, she saw an image in her head of brightly colored autumn leaves swirling across the ground then to a silvery still pool of water. She saw her reflection, which was disturbed when a bright orange oak leaf hit the water, gliding gracefully across it. The image in the pool reformed into a different person: Osaka Naru. The image of Usagi's old friend was smiling pleasantly then suddenly took on an expression of absolute fear and horror...

"Usagi! Usagi! Is there anyone at home in there?" Minako asked waving a hand inches from the face of her blond friend.

"Um..." Usagi returned to her senses, "Sorry, I just zoned out there, I guess. So what were we talking about?" Usagi couldn't get the image of horrified Naru out of her mind.

"We were trying to figure anything we could about our new enemy," Rei said with a touch of impatience in her voice, "But have had little luck."

Makoto noticed Usagi's worried look, "Usagi-chan, what's the matter?"

She was about to answer, "Oh, nothing," when the bedroom door swung open and Rei leaped to her feet, producing an ufda scroll.

"Akuryo Taisan!!" she yelled flinging the paper and an unsuspecting young girl who stood in the doorway next to Chibiusa.

"Rei!" the pink-haired girl yelled and Rei blushed in embarrassment, seeing her mistake, "What did you do that to Idai for?"

The girl, who was no bigger than Chibiusa, carefully pried the strip of paper off her face, and shrugged. "Don't worry Chibiusa," she said indifferently, "It didn't really hurt. Oh, by the way, Chibiusa was going to introduce me. I'm Kosai Idai from her class."

"Yea, everyone," the small pink-haired girl said excitedly, at a loss for words because her friend introduced herself.

At a closer look, Idai was a beautiful little girl. She was thin and wiry but had cute little face. She had two thick, blond pigtails that reached down to her mid back and came out of two large blond buns that were covered in pink hair-bags with navy blue frills around the bottom. She had bright blue eyes, but they seemed to be hiding something. Usagi didn't trust her at all.

"You know," Usagi said, in a slightly scolding tone, "You really should _knock_ before you barge in on us."

"_Sorry_," Chibiusa retorted and stuck her tong out, "Come on Idai, let's go." With that, the two younger girls turned and left the room, closing the door behind them.

"I really don't like that girl, Idai," Makoto commented.

"Me neither," Usagi said firmly.

"I got this feeling from her," the priestess started, "And it definitely wasn't a good one..."

Just then they heard a high-pitched scream of pain and terror coming from outside. Minako, who was nearest to the window, jumped up and looked out onto the street. "It's Naru! Some evil girl is attacking her!" she exclaimed.

"Everyone transform!" Luna commanded, jumping up and the girls nodded.

"Moon Cosmic Power, Makeup!"

"Venus Star Power, Makeup!"

"Mercury Star Power, Makeup!"

"Mars Star Power, Makeup!"

"Jupiter Star Power, Makeup!"

Kashrai cursed when the figure of her target turned into a bright silhouette of light. Neither of the rings or the sphere were housed in her soul. She straightened her pink pigtails that curled under and spiraled back up at about her waist. If she was going to report her failure to Kai, she might as well do it in style.

"Stop right there!"

Kashrai hear a shout from the roof of a nearby house. She whirled around to find five angry looking girls glaring at her. The one in the center, with blond hair in pigtails, very much like her own except straighter, stepped forward and leaped to the ground and landed effortlessly, the other four followed quickly.

"Attacking innocent girls, especially my good friend, is something I cannot forgive!" she said fiercely, "I am Sailor Moon, and in the name of the moon, I'll punish you for your evil deeds!"

Kashrai smirked, "So _you're_ the Sailor Moon I've been hearing so much about. And the rest of you must be the Sailor Senshi, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus. I'm pleased to meet you." Kashrai performed an extravagant bow, but her eyes never left the five Sailor Senshi. "I am Kashrai of the Cryo Clan. Do not get me wrong, but I am just trying to help my people return to our home peacefully. If you would just hand over the Eternal Rings and Eternal Sphere, we would leave your little planet alone."

"We don't know what you're talking about!" the dark-haired and red-clad senshi, Sailor Mars, yelled.

"Pity," Kashrai said flipping her hair over her shoulder. Quick as lightning, she seized the pink crystal that hung around her neck and held it out in front of her, floating between her hands. "Die!" she yelled and a blast of bright pink light shot at the five senshi. The four inner senshi leaped in front of Sailor Moon to protect her, bracing themselves for the worst.

_Fools!_ Kashrai though. Suddenly, the pink energy came straight back for her. She screamed and leaped up and out of the way, landing a ways back.

A rippling bubble of sapphire blue energy surrounded the senshi who were looking around with rather bewildered looks on their faces. A sixth senshi stood behind them. Due to the lighting, all that could be seen of her was a dark silhouette. She had one arm extended above her a shining sapphire broach in the palm of her hand. She lowered it and the bubble disappeared. Without a word, she leaped off behind a nearby wall. That was when the other Sailor Senshi caught a glimpse of her. "Wait!" Sailor Moon called, "Who are you?"

Kashrai cackled. She knew very well who it was and that _that_ senshi couldn't hurt her or any of the other Cryo Clan Warriors directly, so she was being inventive.

The five senshi glared at her, still not moving.

She put the crystal back on her necklace and gently touched the pink, crystalline dot on her forehead. "_Umbra_!" she called, he voice taking on a strange ring, "Come forth!"

A strange shadow creature materialized in front of her. It was dark and evil looking with bright pink eyes. Kashrai grinned. It _was_ a beautiful creature...

She saw Sailor Mercury touch her earring and a visor appeared across her face. After a brief moment, she flinched and a fearful look crossed her face.

"What's the matter Sailor Mercury?" she said mockingly, "Is my little shadow too powerful for you to handle? I'll leave you to play with it. Ta ta for now!" Kashrai cackled and touched her two gold bracelets together and, in a bright flash of pink light, she was gone.

"You guys... This thing is really strong," Mercury repeated slowly, "Our best chance is if we all attack it at once."

"Sounds good to me!" Jupiter said and stepped forward, "Sparkling Wide Pressure!"

"Burning Mandala!"

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

"Love Me Chain!"

All four attacks hit the creature at the same time. It staggered backwards then shook itself, coming forward with a look of vengeance in its glowing pink eyes. It leaped forward and shot a beam of pink energy at them from its eyes.

The five senshi scattered in all directions and Sailor Moon pulled out her scepter. "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!" she yelled and pure white energy shot at the shadow. It screamed and staggered back towards them, looking only a little decimated.

"Oh no!" Sailor Moon gasped.

"We could try Sailor Planet Attack—"Mars suggested, but was cut short as the same senshi that had rescued them earlier leaped back down onto the street.

"Crystalline Leaf Rain!" she yelled in a hauntingly musical voice. Brightly colored crystal autumn leaves rocketed towards the shadow being and it disintegrated with a scream of agony.

The mysterious senshi was about to leap off when Venus called after her, "Please don't go yet! Who are you? Are we allies or not?"

The figure turned, aiming a measuring gaze at the other senshi, she was still a shadow in the sunlight. "First question: I do not believe that I can tell you. Second: I'm not sure yet, you tell me," she looked as if she was about to leave, but then paused, "By the way, your powers are not weak, it just takes several hits to bring an _umbra_ down and you have to have the right kinds of attacks as well. I suppose I'll be seeing you five again... until next time, farewell!" She turned and leaped, quick as lightning, down the road and out of sight.

"Well that was a little disturbing," Jupiter commented and strolled over to the fallen form of Naru.

"She looks alright..." Usagi said, hoping that she really was.

Mercury immediately went into action, checking for a pulse and any injuries that their fallen friend might have. She stood up, sighed and nodded, "She'll be fine. Why don't we de-transform and then take her into Usagi's house where she can rest until she wakes up."

They all agreed and carried out their plans. Each of them was in deep though. There were many loose ends to ponder...


	3. Episode 3

Shy Hayaru. Minako has a Plan.

"Ninakai!"

"Yes Kai!"

"I believe you are best suited for this next one."

"Oh really— A blond? This should be beyond easy. She doesn't look to bright."

"From what I've seen, that's an understatement but she's got that feeling about her. I can tell she is connected to the past somehow and I know the past is the key to the future. She is ambitious and talented in many areas even if she comes across as shallow. Watch out for her friends, they could mean trouble."

"Hai! I understand Kai. We'll see if she's the one. I hope you're right. The sooner we find the Makyuutowa the sooner we can return home and get our revenge. You can trust me Kai!"

"Very well Ninakai. Don't fail us!"

Minako sprinted through the park with a net, in hot pursuit of a yellow butterfly. _I wish biology projects weren't so much work!_ She had not yet had a chance to change out of her school uniform and it would probably come out worse for wear after this chase.

Panting, the blond girl paused for a breath. As she stood slightly hunched over she saw the butterfly glide down to land just beyond a bush ahead. Minako smiled deviously and started sneaking towards it. As soon as she was close enough she whipped the net down as fast as she could so the butterfly wouldn't get away and grinned triumphantly.

A startled yelp came from the other side of the bush. With a quick step to the other side of the bush, Minako realized that her net snared more than she though. A small, pale girl with long, dark green hair pulled up in a loose bun on top of her head and wearing a Juuban Jr. High uniform sat on the ground and had been plainly been reading before being interrupted. It was Hayaru with a butterfly net over her head and on her bun was the butterfly. Her brown eyes held a look both a accusing, startled, and amused.

"Hayaru!" Minako gasped when she saw the tiny bassist she had met only a few days before.

"Aino Minako," Hayaru responded, raising one eyebrow in question, but otherwise not moving. The yellow butterfly still sat perched on her head.

After a short pause of the two girls staring at each other expectantly, Minako exclaimed, "I'm so sorry Hayaru-san! I didn't see you there! Just hold still for a second and let me get this butterfly off of you."

Hayaru giggled and Minako reached down to coax the butterfly off of the other girl's head and farther up into the net. It flitted upward as she had hoped and she snatched the net just below the delicate yellow creature, sealing off its exit. Realizing its peril, the butterfly flapped around desperately, trying to escape. With her other hand, the blond girl produced a plastic jar that probably held peanut butter before its current use.

Without second thought, Hayaru, now free of the net, snatched the jar from Minako and examined it with scrutiny. "How inhumane," she commented, "This is a terrible way to treat a butterfly. It will suffocate and die!" Before Minako had time to protest, she pulled out a pen and started punching holed in the lid. She opened the jar and put several leaves from the bush that she was sitting behind inside the held the jar out to the other girl to put the butterfly in.

Minako sighed and shrugged then lowered the net and deposited the delicate creature in the jar. Hayaru deftly replaced the lid and handed the jar back to Minako, "There you go. Now the butterfly will be nice and comfortable until you are done with it and can release it."

Minako smiled, "I guess I can turn this in live. The teacher never said anything about it being dead."

Hayaru shook her head, "What a terrible waste of life. Anyway, now that you've caught your bug, I will be going." She gathered her things in a satchel and got up, slinging it over her shoulder.

As the green-haired girl started to walk away, Minako called, "Wait Hayaru! Where are you going?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "Just for a stroll."

Minako looked hurt, "You read all alone behind a bush and not you just wander away when I disturb you?"

Hayaru realized what her actions came across as, "Oh! I'm sorry Aino-san. How can I make it up to you?"

The blond thought for a moment then a grin crept across her face and her blue eyes danced. She answered, "Oh, I know of something!"

"You really want me to do this?" Hayaru asked uncertainly. She wore a tank white tank top over her purple and blue swim suit and Minako was similarly clad. They stood on a sandy beach lined up with several other pairs in front of a table where a woman sat taking names. Near by were a tall volleyball net and a basket of volleyballs. She continued, "I mean I'm not exactly athletic..."

"Oh don't worry about it!" Minako waved her hand as to dismiss the topic, "Volleyball isn't that hard and you might meet some new people."

Hayaru just giggled.

Their first two games in the beach volleyball tournament were won easily with Minako rushing back and forth across their court and Hayaru applauding politely at any good plays. The third was another story.

"Akari Hayaru!" a familiar voice said slyly, "Fancy seeing you here." The owner of the voice was dressed in a gold and orange bathing suit with a black tank top over it. Her orange hair was done into one low ponytail at the base of her neck and two small yellow bows on top of her head had a small lock of hair coming for each. Her partner had long sky blue hair with a black headband. Her swimsuit was blue and she also wore a black tank top.

"My friend Aino Minako here convinced me to do this," Hayaru answered coolly, obviously trying not to reveal anything about herself, then switched to a forceful tone, "I didn't expect to see you two here either, _Hirenno Munashii and Nyuuwano Aranami_."

"At least we can play volleyball, Hayaru-chan," the second girl, Nyuuwano Aranami said bitterly, "I don't think the same can be said about you!"

Munashii laughed loudly.

"Let's just get on with the game," Hayaru said bitterly.

The whole while, Minako watched the exchange of bitter words in shock.

Hayaru tossed the ball to Minako who prepared to serve, but before she did, Hayaru said quietly, "I went to school with those two back at Mugen Gauken and we didn't get along, to say the least."

Minako nodded and got ready to serve, "Zero serving zero." She tossed it up into the air and hit it hard, sending to the other side of the net. Munashii dove and passed it up for Aranami to spike it, which she did.

Hayaru, forgetting her lack of skills, dove and hit it up. It was not a very strong pass, but enough for Minako to set it up and over the net. The other girls set it up but were not able to set up for a spike. When the ball came back across the net again, Hayaru set it up into the air and Minako rushed over to spike it. This time, neither Munashii nor Aranami could stop it.

Munashii applauded sarcastically while Aranami casually picked up the ball. "Very well done you two," the blue-haired girl started, "I'm very impressed, Aino Minako. You do very well for having such an un-athletic partner as Hayaru. You have true talent."

Aranami grinned broadly and laughed. She held her hand to the sky and called out, Munashii chorusing in, "Suisei Pawa Henshin!" The world went dark for a fraction of a second and when the darkness lifted, the two girls had disappeared.

"What the—?" Minako asked confused and angry while Hayaru stood in a cat-like ready positing, completely wary.

"Minako! Watch out!" Hayaru shrieked when she saw what she had been looking for.

The blond girl spun around just in time to see a blast of golden light come in her direction. She shrieked as it struck her. Her body became transparent for a moment, only made of swirling colors. Her body solidified again and she collapsed to the ground in extreme pain. Two figures advanced. The first had long blue hair and the second had orange hair in a familiar hair-do, both wore exotic outfits and had crystals radiating with power. "So she doesn't have it?" the orange-haired girl, Ninakai said casually.

"Too bad," Tumnai, the blue-haired girl, commended, "I guess we should check this one too." She gestured towards Hayaru who was hovering protectively over Minako with an expression mixed between terror and anger.

"Don't you dare!" someone shrieked from across the beach. A girl with one long, thin ponytail of orange-brown hair wearing lavender, orange, and blue sailor fuku ran over the small dunes. She stopped just beside Hayaru and Minako, and handed her sapphire-colored broach to Hayaru. As soon as it was in her hand, a blue bubble of energy rose up protecting the pair.

The senshi advanced on the pair of evil woman defiantly, "I will not allow you attack Hayaru, nor will I ever forgive you for hurting Minako. Both are wonderfully talented people and should not be tainted by the likes of you! As the soldier of fall, I am Sailor Autumn! May the brilliance of autumn overthrow your tainting darkness!"

"Impressive dear," Tumnai laughed.

"Autumn Crystalline Leaf—!" Sailor Autumn started.

"Don't try that!" Ninakai commanded and gestured strongly with one of her hands. The orange crystal on a chain around her neck blazed bright.

Sailor Autumn gasped and fell to the ground. "Why you!" she said angrily and shook her fist in their direction, attempting to get up but an invisible force was keeping her down.

"See what happens when you try something like that?" Ninakai asked with a malicious grin on her face.

"We will leave Hayaru alone for now, just to keep you happy," Tumnai said, "But don't think you can stop us in the future. You know you can't."

The two laughed, then they yelled together, holding their hands to the sky, "Suisei Pawa Telepo-to!"

Darkness flashed over the area, and the two women were gone.

Sailor Autumn struggled up just as Minako awoke again. The blond girl gasped at the sight of her rescuer, "It was you!"

The senshi just smiled and took back her broach from Hayaru. "Yes it was," she answered and started walking away.

"Wait!" Minako called, "Who are you? Who were they?"

The senshi just continued walking and disappeared from sight around a changing room.

"Sailor Autumn," Hayaru whispered in awe. Several other words went unsaid, but it was clear that she understood much more than Minako did.

"Hey!" the woman who organized the tournament called, rushing over to Hayaru and Minako, "Are you two okay? Do you still want to take part in the tournament?"

Minako and Hayaru grinned. "Sure!" Hayaru exclaimed, "Let's get back to the game!"


	4. Episode 4

Cute Hyakka is not Just Cute. They Want Haruna-sensei!

"Ranshai!" the familiar and penetrating voice commanded.

"Yes Kai!" a deeper and silkier voice answered.

"That homeroom teacher of yours," the first young woman began, "She is a very talented and wise educator."

"Oh, I see what you're saying," the second girl replied.

"Yes, you must see if she is the host for a part of the Makyuutowa."

The second woman cackled. "As you command, Kai! With pleasure!"

Usagi sighed and folded her hands behind her head as she strolled idly down the sidewalk, gazing contently up at the beautiful array of autumn leaves. A gentle breeze toyed with her pigtails, sending them to twine around each other.

"It's wrong to have school on a nice day like this!" she complained as she walked, still staring up at the trees and the sky.

From behind her, Usagi could hear frantic footsteps clacking on the sidewalk drawing closer and closer. Half of a minute later, a girl with mid-back length strawberry pink hair wearing a Juuban Jr. High school uniform sprinted past her, book bag in hand.

The girl tore past with her deep pink eyes staring straight forward at her destination, Usagi could hear her muttering as she panted, "I'm going to be late! I'm going to be late!"

Usagi watched the girl go, releasing her hands from behind her head to let them swing by her side and picked up her own pace. She giggled, "Sujou Hyakka is so cute! She reminds me sort of of Chibiusa. She just has darker hair and is older. It's funny too because she's even shorter than me!" She giggled again. By this time Hyakka had already charged around the corner and far out of sight.

The blond girl happily enjoyed the peace and beauty of the morning for a minute longer, then a dreaded noise shattered the peace: the dry ringing of the school bell.

"Waaa!" she wailed and started sprinting for school, "I'm late! I hope Haruna-sensei doesn't give me detention!"

There was a quiet click as the door to the classroom closed and Usagi snuck quietly to her desk between Osaka Naru and Mizuno Ami.

Without even looking up from her work at her desk, Mrs. Haruna called dully, "Tsukino Usagi, you're late. That will be half an hour of detention after school today."

"What?" Usagi whined, "Can't you just be nice this once?"

Hyakka, who was sitting just two rows up turned and looked at Usagi and snickered. Usagi stuck her toung out of her mouth then returned to gazing pleadingly at her teacher, "It is such a nice day! I couldn't admiring the leaves and the weather."

"You've already gotten many warnings Usagi," Mrs. Haruna lectured, finally looking up from her work, "and plenty of detentions already. I would hope that would have learned by now. I will be seeing you after school. Now get to work," she concluded sternly then went back to her own work. Several girls in the class giggled.

Umino turned around and grinned at Usagi from where he was sitting just in front of her, "Haruna-sensei really isn't in a good mood today, is she?"

Naru responded thoughtfully, "I think it's all these new students. I'd be really stressed if I had to keep track of so many new people."

"I agree," Ami said, looking up from her math work, "I still don't know the names of lots of the new people in this class." Ami gestured to a pair of people chatting together. One was an unremarkable boy with brown hair and the other was a tall and beautiful girl with waist-length wavy orange hair with a thin braid twining around her forehead. She had tan skin and penetrating emerald green eyes. Her voice was deep and mesmerizing silky as she talked lightly to the boy. "Like those two for example," the genius girl suggested.

"You know," Usagi pondered, then grabbed Ami by the wrist and dragged her friend out of her desk and over to the pair they had just been referring to. She extended a hand to the girl, "Ohayougozaimasu! I'm Tsukino Usagi and this is Mizuno Ami, she's really smart. What's you're name?"

While Ami blushed, the girl took Usagi's hand and shook it delicately, "I am Nikui Kaen and this is my friend Kanna Yoshio. We were both Mugen Gauken students before the fire. It is nice to meet you Mizuno-san, Tsukino-san." Her emerald gaze seemed to be searching the depths of Usagi's soul, a feeling that was very unnerving.

"Yes," Ami said after getting over her blushing, "It is very nice to meet the both of you as well." She extended a hand to Yoshio who shook it warmly.

"Usagi! Ami!" Hyakka called from the other side of the classroom, "Over here!"

"Nice meeting you," Ami said politely and Kaen nodded in response, then she hurried over to Hyakka after Usagi.

"What are you doing making friends with that jerk?" Hyakka demanded in a hushed and angry voice.

"We just—" Usagi started protesting.

"Kaen is really mean and stuck up. She always wanted to make fun of everyone except her close friends. Yoshio used to be nice, but he got really weird and mean as soon as he started hanging out with _her_," the strawberry haired girl explained haughtily.

"You should let us judge them for ourselves," Ami argued mildly.

"I'm saving you that pain," Hyakka answered self-righteously.

"Hey!" Naru argued, rising from her seat and walking over to the three girls, "Ami-chan is right. Quit acting like you know everything."

"_You_ quit acting like you know everything!" Hyakka retorted loudly.

"Ami, Naru, Usagi, sit down," Mrs. Haruna ordered from her desk at the front of the room, "Hyakka, quiet down."

Hyakka grumbled something while the other girls obediently returned to their seats.

"I don't know," Usagi commented quietly and shuddered, "That Kaen girl did give me the creeps..."

"Usagi!" Mrs. Haruna scolded, "Stop talking and get to work!"

Hyakka laughed loudly and stuck her toung out at Usagi.

Usagi glared silently back at the girl.

"Hyakka, I will be seeing you in detention after school today as well," Mrs. Haruna said sternly, "Be quiet and respect your peers."

With that, Hyakka proceeded to sulk for the remainder of the time in homeroom.

"It's all you're fault I'm in here, Usagi," Hyakka grumbled as she wiped off the black board with a wet rag, "I could be practicing with the others!"

"It's your own fault!" Usagi shot back at the shorter girl, "You're the one who was being really rude!"

"Was not!" Hyakka retorted.

"Were too!"

"Was not!"

"Would both of you stop arguing and keep working?" Mrs. Haruna asked tiresomely as she rubbed her temples, as if she had a headache, "You only have fifteen more minutes to work."

Usagi nodded and continued cleaning off the desks while Hyakka grumbled and returned grudgingly to her work.

Fifteen minutes later, the room was spotless and their teacher excused them to go. As Hyakka picked up her book bag, she glared at Usagi, "You better not get me in trouble with detention again!" With that she was out the door and hurrying out of school.

Usagi departed more slowly, taking her time. "I think there's study group at Rei's again today," she pondered quietly to herself, not paying attention to where she was going. The next the she knew, she collided with another girl and both of them were sprawled on the ground, papers flying through the air in all directions.

"Usagi-chan!" the girl exclaimed, straightening her ovular blue-rimmed glasses on her nose. It was Imahodo, finally wearing her Juuban uniform, now with some small reading glasses on, and her long orange hair done in a small, loose bun at the nape of her neck. "So sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going!" she said, a grin breaking across her face, as one of the papers landed on the blond girl's head and slid into her lap. It was a beautiful sketch of the autumn trees, partially stripped of their leaves.

Usagi picked it up and turned it the right direction to look at it. "Oh wow!" she exclaimed, "This is beautiful! Are these all your drawings?"

Imahodo blushed and nodded, "Yea. I was just showing them to the art teacher and trying to convince him to let me in a higher level of the drawing class. The level I'm in is really boring and easy."

Usagi just stared at the picture in awe and gathered up a few more, admiring their beauty. Imahodo gathered them up hurriedly, hoping no one else would come around the corner and step on her work, and stuffed them in a violet folder. She took the pictures from Usagi and looked as if she was going to start in with some casual conversation when a strange determined look flashed across her face for a moment.

"Well anyway," she started and stood up, brushing herself off, "I better get going." With that, Ima hurried off.

Usagi stood up, slightly confused, and started for the school doors and the wonderful weather outside when a scream echoed through the hallways. _Haruna-sensei!_ Seeing no one else around she yelled, "Moon Cosmic Power, Makeup!" In a few moments, she was tearing off down the halls back to her homeroom.

"Hold it right there!" She yelled as she entered the classroom to see a girl with long wavy orange hair and a red crystal in her hand who stood over a fallen Mrs. Haruna, "Attacking such valuable givers of knowledge as Haruna-sensei is something I cannot forgive! I'm Sailor Moon, and in the name of the moon, I'll punish you!"

The woman turned around, "And I'm Ranshai. It's a pleasure to meet you." She grinned and a pulse of red light emitted from her jewel and shot at Sailor Moon. It hit her full force and she screamed as it blasted her across the room.

Ranshai cackled.

"Stop toying with this girl," Another girl commanded as she vaulted in the window, "As the soldier of fall, I am Sailor Autumn! May the brilliance of autumn overthrow your tainting darkness!"

"Sailor Autumn?" Sailor Moon moaned. So this mysterious helper was another Sailor Senshi. But where did she come from?

"Ranshai, you know that the power of your crystal could destroy any of these Sailor Senshi because they haven't found the secret to their power yet," Sailor Autumn commended casually and approached the red and orange-clad woman. "I'll have no more of this! Autumn Crystalline Leaf Rain!"

This time, Ranshai shrieked angrily and growled at Sailor Autumn while Sailor Moon watched, shocked and hurt. The evil woman raised her crystal and a shadow monster appeared. "Now you two can play with this lovely little thing," she chuckled and then added, "But to add to the fun—" she snapped her fingers and the orange and violet clad senshi collapsed to the ground instantly. She laughed maliciously, "Now Autumn-chan, don't try to stop me or that wonderful pet of mine. Understood?" She laughed again then raised her hands upward and yelled, "Suisei Pawaa Terepo-to!" In a flash of red light, Ranshai was gone.

The monster growled and advanced on Sailor Moon while Sailor Autumn groaned and attempted to rise to no avail.

Still dazed and confused, Sailor Moon only gasped and scrambled to stand up.

"Sailor Moon," the fallen senshi moaned, "Defend yourself or something. I can't... I can't hurt that thing this time..."

Sailor Moon nodded, still frightened. She raised her wand and yelled, "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!" The shadow being was hit by the attack but only staggered slightly backwards, red eyes glowing angrily. It yowled and let out a blast of red energy from its mouth. Sailor Moon yelped, cringed, and closed her eyes, waiting for it to hit her.

But it never did. She heard the creature scream in agony and opened her eyes curiously to see a familiar blue bubble of energy surrounding her. Sailor Autumn had managed to get herself in a sitting position and held her sapphire broach in one hand. The creature was gone. The other senshi just smiled and placed her broach slowly back on her bow, as if she was very stiff, and the bubble disappeared.

"You did that?" Sailor Moon asked, confused, "I thought you said you couldn't hurt that thing."

"That I did," she said, then gasped in stiffness and pain as she tried to rise, "But somehow, Ranshai's curse let me protect you, and, in doing so, destroy that thing. My shields reflect almost all energies back to their owners." Just then, she gasped again and stumbled backwards, catching herself on a desk.

"Sailor Autumn!" Sailor Moon exclaimed, "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry," she said, hissing slightly through her stiffness and pain, and stood straight up again, "I'm doing pretty well considering what Ranshai just did. I'm paying for my way around her curse."

"Curse?" Sailor Moon asked, then continued to press the girl with more questions, "You're on our side, right? What do you know about our enemies? Who are you?"

"I am—" she started but was stopped short with a gasp as her eyes widened and it appeared that she had taken a blow to the back of the head. She promptly collapsed again. This time she was able to pull herself up more quickly, but very laboriously, with the help of the desk and a chair. "Sailor Autumn," she finished with a pained look on her face, "I'm afraid that's all I am _able _to tell you. Farewell Sailor Moon!" With that she bounded for the window, despite her stiffness, and vaulted out of it and out of sight.

"'Ranshai's curse...'" Sailor Moon thought to herself, "'Secret to their power...' I wish she would say more!"


	5. Episode 5

The Competition Spirit is Alive! Go for the Gold!

"Kai, isn't Juuban Jr. High having a sports competition during the later part of school today?"

"Right."

"And we could target the winners."

"Excellent thought Ninakai. Those that can win events like these definitely have talent."

"May I go Kai?"

"Yes Tumnai. We will all go. There will be plenty of winners."

"Hai!"

"Mako-chan, Mako-chan!" Usagi said happily as she bounced along side her taller friend. "Are you going to enter the competition today?"

"I don't know..." Makoto responded slowly, "I don't know anyone else that is entering. You two aren't, are you?"

Ami looked up from her book and shook her head, "I am only good at swimming."

"Usagi?" Makoto asked.

"Well," she started sheepishly, fidgeting with her hands, "I was talking to Mamo-chan and he said I couldn't win anything. I would probably mess things up."

Makoto laughed, "Usagi-chan, you're not _that_ bad!"

"Still..." Usagi protested.

"Hey you guys!" Toukan called and walked towards the trio, Hyakka and Mokuhi following her. "Going to enter the competition today?"

"We were just discussing that, actually," Ami said.

"Ami-chan and I don't want to enter, but..." Usagi started.

"Makoto?" Mokuhi asked, "Aren't you going to enter?"

"Come on," Hyakka urged, "We need one more person for our relay team."

"I want to see what you're made of," Mokuhi added.

"Fine, fine," Makoto sighed with a smile.

"Let's go then!" Toukan said, grabbing Makoto and dragging her off towards the sign up area at the track with Hyakka and Mokuhi behind her.

Makoto waved to them as she was being led away, "See you guys later!"

Usagi and Ami waved back. "Have fun Mako-chan!" the blond called.

"Good luck!" Ami added as the four girls disappeared around the corner of the school.

"Congratulations to Tamura Yosuke for winning the boys 50-meter sprint! Nest we have the girls' heat. Good luck girls!" the announcer's voice echoed over the noisy stands.

"I'm so excited!" Minako exclaimed, "Thanks for inviting me to this Ami-chan! What events is Makoto in?"

"I don't know," Ami answered, "Though I think she's at least in a relay with Anrui-san, Konsui-san, and Saijo-san."

"Oh," Minako nodded, "You guys really are doing a lot with them these days."

"Great job! Endo Umi takes the gold on this one! Next up we have boys' long jump..."

"Hey!" a familiar voice called, "Usagi-chan! Ami-chan!" Imahodo followed by Hayaru pushed through the crowd towards them.

"Minako-chan!" Hayaru said, "Mind if we watch with you?"

"Not at all," Ami smiled.

"Minna!" Usagi exclaimed, "Makoto, Toukan, and Mokuhi are in line for the long jump."

"Exciting!" Imahodo bounced, "Go Mokuhi and Toukan!"

"Good luck Makoto!" Ami called.

"Yay Mako-chan!" Usagi and Minako cheered together.

"You ready girls?" Toukan asked.

Makoto nodded firmly.

"You bet I am!" Mokuhi exclaimed, throwing her hand into the hair.

"Congratulations to Kimura Yoshi for winning! Next, we have girls' long jump."

The girls quickly straightened their line, all eyes on them. Toukan was third, followed by Makoto, and then Mokuhi as fifth. The first girl performed an average jump, while the second stumbled. Toukan beat the first girl, just barely. Makoto's jump overtook even Toukan's by far, but Mokuhi's beat hers by a small yet significant amount. The seventh girl jumped father yet, leaving Makoto in third place.

"You guys were great!" Toukan beamed.

"And Hara Rumiko wins the girls' long jump! Next is boys' hurtles..."

"But not quite good enough," Mokuhi said with an ironic smile, leaving Makoto to wonder what exactly she meant.

A whispered rumor went up through the crowds.

"Did you hear? They found Endo-san fainted on the ground in the girls' locker room. They thought she was dehydrated, but now the same thing happened to Hara-san!" one girl gossiped.

Another girl gasped, "Do you thing there's something wrong with the air in the locker room?"

"I can't believe Mokuhi didn't win!" Imahodo vented, "She's so awesome."

"Makoto should have won too," Minako argued, "She's a pro at this."

Ami paled when she heard the gossiping girls behind her. _Maybe it's those villains... they could be behind this._ Just as one of the girls repeated the story of the fainted winners again, she cleared her throat, "I need to run to the restroom. I'll be back in a little while."

"Okay," Usagi nodded, "Hurry so you don't miss Mako-chan in the relay."

Ami smiled, "Of course."

"Come to think of it," Imahodo said, "I need to go as well. I'll come with you Ami-chan."

Ami nodded, fidgeting, as she turned off into the crowds towards the bathroom. _Having her along will make it harder for me to sneak off and investigate..._

"Great job to Kanbe Takero for winning boys' hurtles. Cast your eyes to the track for the girls' heat!"

"Hey look!" Imahodo pointed excitedly towards the starting line, "It's Hyakka-chan!"

Next to the small ex-Mugen student stood Naru, ready to run. And Osaka-san," Ami observed. Both girls paused to watch.

The starting gun sounded and the girls sprinted down the lanes.

"Go Hyakka-chan!" Imahodo cheered, bouncing off the ground.

Naru set herself apart from the pack right away, clearing hurtles with ease. Hyakka, on the other hand, tripped over the third hurtle, rolling painfully to the ground. She moaned and got up slowly, just in time to see the winners finish. She grumbled and threw up her hands as she left the track, not bothering to finish the race.

"Poor Hyakka," Imahodo moaned, then she cupped her hands around her mouth, "Daijoubu!"

"Great job to Osaka Naru for winning! Next is boys' pole vaulting."

Ami smiled, "Good job Osaka-san!"

Imahodo tapped her on the shoulder. "Let's get going," she reminded.

The blue-haired girl nodded and they continued through the crowds.

"Great job Naru-chan!" Makoto exclaimed when the victor approaches them, "You just flew!"

Naru blushes, "I didn't expect to do _that_ well."

"So why are you over here and not enjoying your glory while resting in the locker room?" Toukan asked.

"I'm in the pole vaulting event, and I want a chance to stretch out," she answered.

"Hey, so am I," Makoto declared.

"Me too!" Mokuhi put in.

Naru laughed nervously, "You'll probably beat me..."

Soon, they found themselves lined up beside the vaulting pit. All the girls cleared the bar at the first height, some more easily than others. At the second height, the first two girls, Naru, and two others all missed the bar, knocking it down. This left six more girls, Makoto and Mokuhi included. Two more girls dropped out at the next height.

As she waited in line for her fourth vault, Makoto glanced at Mokuhi, her green eyes hard. _I won't be beaten by her again!_ she thought, setting her jaw determinedly. Makoto stood third in line while Mokuhi was fourth.

When Makoto's turn arrived, she grasped the pole in her hands and rushed at the bar, kicking off the ground. She floated seemingly effortlessly over the bar, landing on the mats on the other side with a soft thud. The crowd erupted in cheers.

Mokuhi took the pole next, but just as she was about to leap from the ground, she lost her footing, planning the pole too early and swung up low, missing the bar completely. She scowled and got up then stormed off into the crowd.

Makoto was unable to make it over the next bar along with one of the other two remaining girls.

"Finally we have a winner: Ono Chizuru! Now is the longest footrace of the afternoon, one full lap of the track! We start with boys..."

Naru beamed at Makoto when she returned to the sidelines, "Great job Makoto! You're awesome at that!"

Makoto grinned, "Thanks! But shouldn't you be getting your medal from the locker room now."

"I guess I should be," she replied slowly, "But I'm in the next event too. I don't want to miss the start of it."

Makoto smiled, "I'm in that with you again too!"

"Good luck," Naru said with a smile.

"Good luck to you too!" Makoto responded.

"Great job Morino Kenji for winning this race! Next up we have the girls..."

All of the girls lined up to start, Mokuhi included. Taking on an even more annoyed look, she growled at the blue-haired girl next to her, "I'll beat you this time Aranami."

The girl smiled pleasantly but retorted with a biting edge to her voice, "I think you have that wrong Mokuhi-chan."

"Go!"

The race started. Mokuhi, Makoto, Naru, Aranami, and two other girls immediately set themselves apart from the pack with Mokuhi in the lead.

Whizzing by the crowds, Makoto heard Minako and Usagi cheer, "Go Mako-chan! You can do it!"

Usagi added, "Go Naru-chan!"

Even Hayaru's gentle voice carried above the crowd, "Go Mokuhi!"

Taking energy from her friends' cheers, she put on a burst of speed and passed Mokuhi, who did her best to keep up.

Suddenly, Aranami burst by. As if something exploded in her, Mokuhi followed right on the blue-hared girl's heels, past Makoto. When Mokuhi almost caught up, Aranami performed an odd little jump. The next thing anyone knew, Mokuhi tumbled to the ground, rolling and skidding across the track. Once stopped, she lay motionless.

"Mokuhi!" Makoto gasped. She hurried over to her and knelt down at her side. "Mokuhi?" she asked urgently, "Are you okay?"

Several girls sped past them. _I could have won this,_ Mokuhi thought grimly. "That Aranami—"Mokuhi growled, fighting to sit up, "That cheater!"

"Congratulations Nyuuwano Aranami for winning the race! This was a close one, no doubt about it! Now we have the boys' relay race..."

"Here," Makoto stuck out a helping hand, "Let me help you up. I'll get you over to the bench again so you can stretch out for the relay."

Mokuhi accepted the help and, leaning on Makoto, she limped off the track scowling.

"That's not fair at all! You almost won!" Hyakka exclaimed once Mokuhi reached the bench, "And now you won't be at your best for the relay. That Aranami will pay for this!"

"Cool it Hyakka," Toukan said calmly, "We could still win this."

Aranami strolled through the locker room playing with her medal, pleased.

"Tumnai!" a voice said sharply.

The girl looked up and saw her leader standing impatiently before her. Aranami's sportswear melted away, replaced by a teal battle outfit. "Yes Kai!" she saluted.

"I can't have you tampering with our system of selections!" she snapped.

"But Mokuhi—"Tumnai protested.

"Put aside our old rivalries of this life Tumnai," Kai scolded, "You know what's at stake!"

"Yes Kai," she resigned and bowed her head.

They heard footsteps coming towards them; both silenced. A moment later, Naru came into view, not paying any attention to them.

"_Konnichiwa_," Kai said with a slight smile.

Naru looked up and her eyes widened. "It's you people again!" she exclaimed fearfully, backing away, "Just— just like that pink-haired girl."

"We've gotten her before," Tumnai observed quietly.

"Take her down anyway," Kai ordered, "Make her forget what she has seen."

Naru turned and ran before she heard them finish. "Help!" she screamed.

A blast from Tumnai's crystal struck her back, knocking her over.

Ami heard Naru's scream from where she wasted time in the bathroom. "Osaka-san!" she whispered. Ducking into a bathroom stall, she transformed.

"Go!"

Makoto, baton in hand, and all the other first runners, burst away from the starting line. Makoto's speed put their team of the rest right away. She passed of the baton to Hyakka, who lagged a bit but still kept in the leading group, although not first. Toukan took the baton next and pulled them up one more place. Finally, Mokuhi's sprint pulled them up two more, winning the relay.

"Great job Team Four! Our winners are Kino Makoto, Sujou Hyakka, Konsui Toukan, and Anrui Mokuhi! For our next event, we have boys' shot put..."

"_Sugoi_!" Hyakka exclaimed, rushing towards the others, "We won!"

"Awesome!" Toukan agreed, giving both Mokuhi and Hyakka a pat on the back.

"Great job guys!" Mokuhi congratulated.

Feeling a little awkward near such close friends, Makoto offered, "I'll go get the medals and meet you back at the bench with them."

"Sounds good," Mokuhi agreed with a smile.

Hands full with four medals, Makoto proudly made her way back through the locker room. Suddenly, she heard Naru scream in terror. Quickly, she stowed the medals in her pocked and flung out her henshin wand.

"Jupiter Star Power, Makeup!"

The moment she finished her transformation, Sailor Mercury bolted into her aisle.

"Sailor Jupiter!" she panted, "Osaka-san is in trouble! It's those villains again!"

"Let's go!" Jupiter motioned and the two sprinted past the bench-lined aisles of lockers and into the open shower area at the back.

There stood two villains, one with green hair and the other with blue, at the ready with Naru sprawled out face down on the ground.

"Naru-chan!" Makoto exclaimed in shock, "I can't forgive you for attacking Naru a second time! Supreme Thunder!"

The green-haired girl quickly dodged out of the way. She laughed. "Don't think your weak attacks could hurt us! We will be the ones" she said, aiming her green crystal at Jupiter and releasing its energy. The tall soldier was knocked to the ground with its blast.

"Jupiter!" Sailor Mercury exclaimed. _It would be unwise for me to attack them on my own..._

Just then, the mysterious soldier from before ran in from behind her.

"Sailor Mercury," she acknowledged with a nod then, with more concern, "Sailor Jupiter."

"Sailor Autumn," the green-haired villain sneered, "Fancy seeing you here."

"Must you always show up to rescue these pitiful girls?" the second villain asked with disgust. "You know you can't be of much help anyway."

"Kai, Tumnai," Sailor Autumn scowled, "You need to leave these people alone!"

Kai, the green-haired girl, laughed and snapped her fingers. Sailor Autumn collapsed to the ground.

Mercury gasped. _Alone again!_

Tumnai snickered, "It doesn't look like you will be able to stop us after all, Autumn-chan?"

Sailor Autumn groaned and struggled to rise with little success.

"_Umbra_ Come Forth!" Tumnai called and a shadow creature with sapphire blue eyes appeared before the soldiers.

"_Umbra_ Come Forth!" Kai called. Her shadow had glowing emerald green eyes. Both loomed frighteningly over Sailor Mercury and her two fallen companions.

As if called to the rescue, Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus rushed to the scene. Not seeing the villains, Sailor Moon immediately knelt by Jupiter and began to help her up.

"Sailor Moon," Kai chuckled, "So nice to see you. Now, we'll leave you to play with our little pets." She held her crystal towards the ceiling and Tumnai followed suit.

"Suisei Teleport!" they called together, then disappeared.

The instant they were gone, Sailor Autumn leaped to her feet. "Two?" she gasped in dismay.

"Minna!" Sailor Mercury exclaimed from behind her goggles, "The blue one is the weakest. Let's concentrate our attacks on the stronger one first."

"Right," Sailor Moon nodded, "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"

"Venus Love-Me Chain!"

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

"Crystalline Leaf Rain!"

The five attacks struck the green-eyed shadow, which staggered backwards then sent beams of green energy from its glowing eyes towards Sailor Mercury.

She quickly dove out of the way, "again Sailor Moon; that should do it!"

Meanwhile, the second sent a blast of blue energy at down Mercury as well. She barely rolled out of the way. _Apparently they're trying the same strategy that we are._

"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"

With that, the first shadow was split apart by the light and disappeared.

Sailor Mercury scrambled to her feet and aimed for the second shadow. "Again!" she ordered, staring through her goggles, "Go for the eyes! Shine Aqua Illusion!"

"Supreme Thunder!"

"Venus Love-Me Chain!"

"Crystalline Leaf Rain!"

With Sailor Autumn's attack, the weaker creature disappeared, screeching.

The threat gone, Usagi rushed over to Naru, rolling her over to her back.

"She'll come to in a moment," Autumn informed them.

"Sailor Autumn," Venus stepped forward, "We meet again. You keep showing up and fighting those _Umbra_."

"Isn't that what a Sailor Soldier is supposed to do?" she asked rhetorically.

"You know so much about the enemies," Sailor Jupiter observed suspiciously.

"Yes!" Mercury exclaimed, "Please tell us more."

Autumn smiled regretfully, "A curse isn't all bad. But I'm sorry, I _can't_ tell you anything." She turned on her heels and darted away, past the lockers.

"Wait!" Sailor Moon called, but to no avail.

Naru stirred and moaned.

Sailor Moon jumped up, "Hurry and un-transform!"

Everyone quickly obeyed and all but Makoto snuck off.

When Naru finally opened her eyes and got up, she saw Makoto kneeling worriedly over her. "Makoto?" she asked, "What happened?"

_She doesn't remember?_ "You must have just fainted," she lied, pausing, "from dehydration." _No sense in scaring her unnecessarily..._

Just then, Toukan, Mokuhi, and Hyakka appeared.

"Makoto?" Mokuhi began, "What took you so long?"

"Do you have the medals?" Hyakka asked.

Pulling the prizes from her pocket, she answered, "Naru fainted and I wanted to make sure she was okay."

"You won?" Naru asked, still dazed.

"The relay," Toukan nodded.

"You won too," Makoto pointed out, "It's been a great day."

Naru smiled and nodded, "Yes it has!"


	6. Episode 6

A Day in the Woods

"Kai?"

"Yes, Norai?"

"I know of a clever and talented girl that is often overlooked."

"Can you handle her yourself?"

"Yes Kai!"

Puffy white clouds hurried swiftly away overhead. Meanwhile, only a light breeze danced down the street, playing at Toukan's dark blond hair. She sniffed at the breeze and surveyed the sky.

"Does it look good?" Imahodo asked anxiously beside her.

Toukan nodded, still examining the sky. "The good weather should hold," she answered, "I don't want to put off the trip for another week. Got everything packed Ima-chan?"

"Hayaru is just finishing up," Imahodo said, then added, "It's great that your family has pretty much all the gear we need: tents, sleeping bags, cook kit, everything!"

Toukan laughed, "The four of us used to do a lot more hiking and camping then we do now. I'm just glad all the backpacks are still holding together."

Imahodo looked over her shoulder and back into the house where Hayaru forcefully stuffed the last sleeping bag into a dull gray pack. "I always wonder at how people can stay upright with something that huge strapped to their backs," she said.

Toukan shrugged, "I'll have the heaviest one, and I know you've managed a smaller pack before. With all the straps you'll both be fine."

Imahodo nodded then said, "It's too bad Hyakka and Mokuhi couldn't come today. We have a ton of extra food now."

Toukan turned to her and nodded then was struck by a sudden idea. "We could invite Usagi-tachi. Maybe some of them would want to come."

"Great idea!" Imahodo exclaimed and hurried back inside Toukan's house saying, "I'll go call them right away!"

After a lengthy drive out of Tokyo and to the foot of the mountains the girls finally got off the bus near their trailhead. Stretching their legs, none of them quite wanted to get their backpacks on just yet.

Staring up at the sky and the mountainside above them, Imahodo whistled in amazement, "It's beautiful! How far up are we going, Toukan?"

"Not far up the slope at all. We didn't start early enough to make it up all the way, and the camp sites are much prettier near the bottom anyway," Toukan explained, joining her friend in staring up at the peaks of the mountains.

"There won't be much of a view then, will there?" Imahodo asked, disappointment hanging in her voice.

Toukan shook her head then added, "But it will still be beautiful where we're staying. Dad, my brothers, and I used to camp there a lot when I was a kid. And maybe some time just you and me can try for the top when we're feeling gutsy."

Imahodo grinned and nodded, "Sometime when we don't have Hayaru, Usagi, Makoto, Chibiusa, and Isuzu along," she paused, "But I'm still really glad they could come. This will be so much fun!"

From somewhere behind them, they could hear scuffling. Usagi's distinctive whine cut through the air, "Chibiusa! What is all your stuff doing in my pack? I'm not carrying it up that mountain."

Toukan turned to Imahodo and raised and eyebrow. Imahodo covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. Toukan rolled her eyes, repressing a grin.

"Hey! Don't drop it in the dirt!" Chibiusa squealed.

"It was in my pack, it's your own fault! Carry it yourself," Usagi snapped.

"But you're bigger than me," Chibiusa argued.

"I already have a heavy enough backpack with my stuff. Take care of your own things," Usagi said, scooping up her backpack.

"If you don't want to carry it, I have a bit more room in my pack," Makoto offered, dropping hers to the ground.

"Really?" Chibiusa asked, and when answered with a nod, she gleefully pushed her pile towards the brunette, "Here! Thank you!"

"Mako-chan! Don't let the brat trick you. She's just being lazy," Usagi accused.

Chibiusa's small blond friend approached her, saying, "You know, Chibiusa, you really should take responsibility for your own things."

Chibiusa put her hands on her hips and whined, "Isuzu-chan! Whose side are you on anyway?"

Hayaru quietly approached her two old friends, eyebrows raised. "This will be interesting, won't it?" she commented.

Both Imahodo and Toukan laughed a little in response. "It will certainly be a good chance to get to know them all better," Toukan suggested.

"You know, though," Hayaru started, "I only packed enough for five of us, not seven. You didn't mention that Usagi's little sister and her friend were coming along."

"With Usagi's appetite, that could be a problem," Imahodo laughed.

Overhearing them, squabble now ended, Makoto walked over and said, "Don't worry. I brought lots of my home made snacks."

"Oh!" Chibiusa squealed and hurried over to Makoto's side, dragging her blond friend with her, "That makes me hungry already! Isuzu, you have to try Makoto's cooking. It's amazing!"

"When do we get to eat?" Usagi asked, "I'm hungry."

"When we get to the site," Toukan said, laughing, "Think you can last 'till then, Tsukino-san?"

"Well then, let's get going!" Usagi declared and marched forward onto the trail.

"Hey!" Makoto called after her, "Wait up!"

"Mako-chan!" Chibiusa exclaimed, "What about my stuff?" When the brunette didn't stop, she grumbled and picked her things out of the dirt.

Toukan laughed again, "You two ready?"

Swinging her pink backpack up onto her shoulders again, Chibiusa nodded.

"Let's go then," Imahodo urged and strode up the wooded path after Makoto and Usagi. Toukan, Hayaru, Chibiusa, and Isuzu quickly followed after her. "We can't let them get too far ahead of us," she added over her shoulder. A few steps later, she started whistling a cheerful tune that didn't follow any particular song.

Birds sang in the treetops all around them while a gentle breeze blew whispers through the leaves. Sunlight filtered down onto the path, leaving a mosaic of light and shadow. Toukan smiled. She couldn't have asked for a better day. Even so, that Usagi and Makoto had gotten so far ahead already worried her. Usagi's stomach had propelled them out of site of the rest of the group.

After a long while of just the sound of boots crunching on the dirt path and the noises of the woods, Isuzu asked, "So, once we get there, what do we do?"

"You've never been camping before?" Hayaru blurted, then covered her mouth and blushed.

"Well, we'll have to pitch the tents and start a fire for dinner," Toukan explained over her shoulder as she picked up the pace, remembering Usagi and Makoto. "Probably a few people will work on collecting firewood. Like two or three people can do the tents, and someone needs to pump and filter some water from the stream for our dinner."

"You sound like you've done this a lot," Isuzu commented but didn't sound particularly impressed.

"I'll help with the tents!" Chibiusa volunteered, "I did it once before."

"Alright, that's your job then," Toukan said with a smile. She then turned to her friend, "Ima-chan, can you help her out pitching the tents?"

"Sure thing!" Imahodo said, giving her a thumbs-up. "Half the fun is getting it wrong the first time," she said over her shoulder to Chibiusa, who giggled.

"You've camped a lot before too, Akihara-san?" Chibiusa asked.

Imahodo shrugged, "Not a lot. When I was a kid in Kyoto, my parents took my brother and me camping enough for me to know what it's about. Toukan just got me into it again."

"She has all the gear and practically acts like she grew up in the woods," Hayaru teased, "Raised by the wolves, maybe?"

"Hayaru," Toukan said and gave the smaller girl a gentle shove, blushing, "My parents were much more human than a wolf pack."

"I bet you could survive with the wolves," Imahodo pursued the joke, giving Toukan a playful shove as well.

"Nah," she protested, waving off their comments with a laugh. Just then they passed out of a thick grove onto a more open path. Not far ahead was a fork in the trail. A sign at the split marked the left trail for the mountain summit and the right for closer campgrounds. Toukan took a deep breath, hoping that Usagi and Makoto had taken the right fork.

"Which trail is it again," Hayaru asked.

"The right one. The other one leads to the top of the mountain," she explained, leading them along to the right, into denser woods again.

"Sometime you should take us up there," Chibiusa urged.

"I thought you didn't like carrying so much on your back?" Hayaru asked, smiling playfully back at the younger girls.

"Well," Chibiusa lowered her gaze, "It's not so bad, I guess. This is fun! Right, Isuzu?"

"Huh?" The little blond girl asked, as if snapping out of a trance. She caught herself and responded with a bit of enthusiasm, "Yea, I've never done this before. This mountain is so beautiful."

Toukan smiled, "This is my favorite area to hike. It really is gorgeous."

"Hmm," Hayaru wondered out loud, "I wonder when we'll catch up to Tsukino-san and Kino-san. We have been hiking pretty fast."

"Maybe they took the wrong trail," Chibiusa suggested, "That's totally something Usagi would do."

"You'd think they'd realize they were going the wrong way sooner or later," Imahodo said, "Makoto-san seems to know what's she's doing outside, at least somewhat."

"Well," Toukan said, "If they're not at the campsite when we get there, I'll head back out and look for them up on the path to the peak. There's only one path up there so it shouldn't be too hard to find them if I can catch up."

"I hope they didn't get too lost," Hayaru murmured.

"I'm sure they didn't," Isuzu said, "You heard Toukan; it'd be pretty hard to. Even Usagi is smarter than that."

Toukan glanced up at the sky through the lush canopy overhead. The good weather still held, but daylight wouldn't last for more than a few more hours. She perked her ears to listen for the sound of the stream that they would camp along. She groaned a little and adjusted the weight of her backpack on her shoulders. "Next time," she murmured, "I'll get someone else to carry one of the tents."

Meanwhile, the others watched the ground to keep from stumbling or gazed around at the woods and stumbled anyway. A butterfly fluttered in front of Isuzu, and she giggled. Imahodo hummed something unrecognizable, probably a meld of all the tunes running through her head. Hayaru seemed to be fascinated with the birds that hopped from branch to branch. Chibiusa and Isuzu were deep in a hushed conversation, speaking almost as if not to disturb the peace of nature around them.

Finally breaking it, Chibiusa whined, "My feet hurt. Fuyutsuki-san, how much farther is it?"

"Not far, I don't think," Toukan responded. _I certainly hope not._ "There is a stream near the site, and a little cascade, so we'll hear it when we get close."

Almost visibly, Chibiusa perked her ears. It was as if she thought if she listened harder they would arrive sooner.

Soon after, she exclaimed, "I think I hear it!" Instantly she broke into a run down the path.

"Wait!" Toukan called, "Careful—"

Either the uneven ground or the awkward weight of her backpack sent her face-first into the dirt with a yelp only a few strides into her run.

"Chibiusa!" Isuzu exclaimed and hurried over her, trying not to let her own pack get the better of her balance. "Are you okay?"

Toukan groaned but hurried over as well.

"Is she okay?" Hayaru asked.

Toukan squatted down next to the moaning girl, teetering on her heels. Isuzu backed away to give her room. "What hurts?" the tall blond asked, "Do you think you can stand?"

"I—," Chibiusa moaned, "I think so. I hit my knee."

"Here," Toukan offered and pulled Chibiusa's characteristically pink bag up and helped her to sit. Both of her knees were cut up and her hands scraped as well. All of it, of course, was caked in dirt. "You did make a mess of yourself," she said warmly. "We need to clean that up before we can put bandages on that so it doesn't get infected."

"You know," Imahodo said as she drew closer, "I think I do hear the stream."

Chibiusa gave a little smile.

"Well," Toukan said, "If that's true, we should be able to wash it off nicely in the water there. Imahodo, can you carry her pack the rest of the way? It's not far."

Imahodo eyed the pink bunny-shaped backpack with an eyebrow raised. "If it's not far," Imahodo shrugged and stooped down to pick it up. She swung it up and swung the straps over her shoulders and hung it over her front. "How much did you bring Tsukino-chan?" Imahodo exclaimed as she stumbled a little to gain her balance again.

Both Hayaru and Isuzu snickered.

"You look like a kangaroo-rabbit!" Chibiusa laughed.

Toukan looked up at Imahodo and broke into a hilarious fit of laughter. When she was finally able stop, gasping and teary, she extended a hand to Chibiusa, asking still with a chuckle, "Do you think you can walk on it?"

Chibiusa nodded and rose with her help. She limped a bit but soon evened out her stride.

"Now let's get to this camp site!" Toukan exclaimed, thrusting a fist into the air. Following after her, the other four picked up as brisk a pace as Chibiusa's leg and Imahodo's unbalance would allow. Despite the extra weight, Imahodo resumed her light whistling, and the two younger girls resumed their low conversations.

In only a few minutes the stream and its small waterfall came into view. The end in sigh, their pace picked up until they reached the clearing.

"We're here!" Hayaru sighed with delight as she slid her backpack of her back and let it drop carelessly into the dirt. "And it's so beautiful! Nice work Toukan."

"Oh, thank goodness," Imahodo said and slunk down onto a boulder near the stream and stripped off the two packs and her shoes, rolled up her pants, and stepped into the cold stream.

Chibiusa and Isuzu followed quickly after her.

"But no sign of Usagi and Makoto," Toukan said as she thankfully dropped her pack to the ground. Gazing around at the clearing, ringed by dense brush and the stream, she saw that there was no other path from it other than the one they had come down. Usagi and Makoto undoubtedly headed for the summit. She glanced up at the sky. _If I hurry, I can catch them and get them back here before dark._ "Hey guys," she announced, "I'm going to go back and look for Usagi and Makoto. If you could get the tents up and get a fire going for dinner while I'm going, that'd be great."

"Are you sure it's okay for you to head out alone?" Hayaru asked.

Toukan shrugged. "I know this area, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"We'll have it done by the time you get back!" Imahodo assured her and made for the tent pack that Toukan had been carrying.

"Alright!" Toukan said with a smile and, putting a flashlight in her back pocket, she jogged back down the trail, carefully scanning the ground for roots and rocks. Without a back, she could keep that pace up for a while, despite how tired she already was.

Usagi finally staggered to a stop and flopped down onto a rock beside the path. "I'm tired," she whined, "And it just keeps getting steeper. Where is everyone?"

"I think we're lost," Makoto said, sighing, "They should have caught up by now."

"Do you think they went another way to play a trick on us?" Usagi asked, "Or maybe they forgot about us?"

"No, they wouldn't do that," Makoto said confidently but she quickly felt less sure of her statement, "at least, probably not."

"I want to go home!" Usagi pouted.

Makoto sighed and sank down next to her. "Probably the best we can do is to stay here and wait, and hope that someone will come along soon."

"Are you sure this is the best place for the tents, Imahodo?" Hayaru asked as the four of them pounded tent stakes in the ground with large rocks, "It's not very level here."

"But the ground is covered moss there," Imahodo explained, "It will be way comfier."

"I hope no one winds up on top of someone else because of that hill," Hayaru murmured.

Imahodo just laughed and, finished with the steaks, tossed her rock haphazardly back towards the stream.

"We're done," Isuzu said, sighing and tossing her rock to the ground, "What now?"

"Toukan said we needed firewood," Chibiusa piped in.

"Right, right," Imahodo nodded. "How about you two do that? Hn… Hayaru?"

"I can unpack everything else into the tents and start organizing dinner, but I'll need water," Hayaru offered.

"Alrighty, I'll filter water then," Imahodo concluded with a smile and went over to her pack where she dug for the filter. Meanwhile the two younger girls skipped off into the woods around them.

Toukan pushed up the mountain trail as quickly as her body would allow. Panting hard, she focused just on putting one lead-like foot in front of the other. "I am not in as good of shape as I thought I was," she panted. She wanted to kick herself for not bringing her water. "How much farther up here could they have gone?"

Just then, a gust of wind brought a snatch of conversation down the path to her: "Mako-chan, don't you think we should try to find them? They forgot about us."

Toukan sighed with relief and called, "I'm coming!"

"Who?" she heard Makoto call back over the next rise.

Toukan pushed herself into a clumsy jog up the trail, and moments later, Usagi and Makoto came into view. Usagi jumped up from her rock while Makoto scrambled up from the ground where she had been leaning on her pack.

"I knew you'd come find us!" Usagi exclaimed.

"I don't know how we got lost…" Makoto apologized, speaking over her.

Toukan smiled, panting, "I'm sorry it took me so long. I didn't think you would have gone this far off. If we hurry, we'll get to the camp site before dark and before dinner gets cold."

"Oh," Usagi said, "I'm starving."

"Well, let's get going," Makoto said with darkened enthusiasm.

Toukan nodded, a shiver running down her spine, and turned down the trail again, "I think you guys just missed the fork in the trail to the camp site."

"Must have," Makoto responded as they picked their way back down the dusty path.

Toukan hoped that a good dinner and toasted marshmallows around a camp fire would help warm everyone to each other.

As Chibiusa and Isuzu pushed through the underbrush, twigs constantly snagging their clothes and pigtails. "This is so much fun," Chibiusa cooed, "My family never did this like Toukan's did."

Isuzu nodded, "Mine neither."

"What sort of things did your family do growing up?" Chibiusa asked as she bent over to scoop up some fallen sticks into her arms.

Gingerly picking up some herself, Isuzu responded, "My family really didn't do much together. It's mostly been my sister and me."

"Oh," Chibiusa said with gentle sympathy, "I didn't know. Did they die?"

Isuzu shrugged, "I don't know, really, we just haven't seen them for a really long time."

"That's awful," Chibiusa gasped, as they picked farther along through the woods.

"It's really not so bad," she argued casually, "Hisae and I manage really well on our own." After a few moments of crunching over the ground, she began, "You know, Chibiusa-chan, your warmness amazes me. You're so friendly and good at making friends. I wish I was good at that like you."

Chibiusa blushed pink enough to match her hair and giggled, "I could introduce you to a lot more people, you know. I like having a lot of friends."

Isuzu suddenly stopped and squinted off to her left, "I think I see some really good wood over there. Would it be okay if I went over by the stream while you finish up with this brush?"

"Sure," Chibiusa shrugged and continued towards the brush pile in front of them while Isuzu crashed off towards the stream. As she filled her arms with twigs, she murmured, "I really feel bad for Isuzu and her sister. I guess I have been away from Mom and Dad for a long time too… but it's not quite the same, I guess." When she finally had her arms full of kindling, Chibiusa straightened up and turned around, calling, "Isuzu! I think I've got eno—!"

Just then she heard a loud crack behind her, accompanied by a high-pitched cackle. She gasped and whipped around. A small blond girl dressed in tight blue and pink held a pink crystal that glowed menacingly. Her blue eyes were narrowed, lips in a smirk, and body poised to spring. "Just what I've been looking for," she chuckled.

The pink glow grew to a blaze and Chibiusa screamed as she felt her body and her consciousness slip away from her.

A young scream split through the air. Both Hayaru at the tents and Imahodo at the stream froze and looked in the direction of the woods.

"That sounds like one of the girls!" Hayaru exclaimed.

"I wonder if they—" Imahodo started, growing pale. She tossed the water filter and the bottle she had been filling back onto the bank and took off into the woods. "I'm going to go check it out," she called, grasping tightly at her coat pocket.

At the sound of a scream, jittering birds took to the skies.

"What the—?" Toukan asked, stopping mid-stride.

"That sounds like Chibiusa!" Usagi exclaimed.

"We're not far, are we?" Makoto asked urgently. When Toukan shook her head, she responded, "Let's go!" Both she and Usagi broke into a run down the trail.

"Be careful!" Toukan called after them. Sighing at her sore legs, she took a deep breath and jogged off down the trail in their wake.

The blond girl grimaced as Chibiusa's body solidified again and collapsed limply onto the ground, "She's blank. This is my first failure, so Kai will be more forgiving… Chibiusa can't remember this," she said, fumbling with her crystal again.

As she did so, footsteps crashed through the brush behind her and a large stick struck her squarely across the back of the head. She yelped and lurched forward, loosing the crystal into the brush at her feet.

"Stop right there Norai!" a voice called behind her, "Crystalline Leaf Rain!"

Norai screeched as the attack hit her full force and knocking her to the ground. The footsteps advanced closer as she rummaged for her crystal and slowly struggled to her hands and knees. Finally grasping her shining weapon in hand, she stiffly stood and turned to face her attacker, who stood protectively over Chibiusa. "Sailor Autumn," she growled with mocking sweetness, "Now, that was creative."

"I'm glad you thought so," Sailor Autumn said darkly, cracking a cheerless half-smile. "Now leave."

Norai burst into shrill giggles, "As if you could stop me!" She stepped towards Sailor Autumn and Chibiusa, menacing confidence written across her face. "That little girl needs to forget all about this," she said, smirking.

"Come no closer!" Sailor Autumn ordered, but shifted her stance nervously. When Norai continued picking through the brush towards her, she lashed out, "Crystalline leaf—"

But before she could finish, Norai thrust her hand towards Autumn. Instantly, Sailor Autumn felt as if fire raced up and down her nerves, nearly paralyzing her. She yelled, writhing with pain, and collapsed slowly to the ground.

Norai chuckled and stepped daintily over the fallen soldier and to the little girl. Looking down on her with half-pity, she held up her crystal again and called, "_Umbra,_ come forth!" A shadow creature with glowing pink eyes surged out of it. "Do your work," she chuckled, stepping back. Norai grimaced as she heard crashing footsteps coming towards her, "Not again…" She turned around to see Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter panting and poised for battle. "How may I help you," she asked with a smile.

"Get away from here, you witch," Sailor Jupiter growled.

"I can't forgive you for attacking a little girl just out here having fun in the woods!" Sailor Moon declared, "In the name of the Moon, I'll have to punish you!"

"Oh?" Norai asked, cocking her head to one side, unimpressed.

Jupiter lunged, "Sparkling Wide Pressure!"

Norai shrieked, unable to completely avoid it. She stumbled backwards towards Sailor Autumn, who stiffly stuck her arm out to trip her. Norai cursed in a language unknown to any of them as she tumbled into the underbrush. Sailor Autumn laughed weakly.

"Sailor Autumn!" Sailor Moon exclaimed, "You're here too?"

Scowling, Norai said, "Fine then. You can just play with my _umbra_ then." With a flash of pink light, she disappeared.

"That was weird," Sailor Moon murmured.

"The shadow-thing!" Jupiter exclaimed, "We have to get it away from Chibiusa!"

"Right!" Sailor Moon said, and shuffled over to Autumn and offered her a hand, "Can you stand?"

She moaned a little and nodded, taking Sailor Moon's hand and slowly stood. Autumn immediately grasped a branch of the nearest tree, panting.

Meanwhile, Jupiter charged forward, "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" she screamed, slamming the shadow with lightening.

Sailor Moon too rushed at it, waving her wand, "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"

The creature hissed angrily as it was struck, but its glowing eyes grew dimmer.

"I think it's getting weaker," Sailor Moon exclaimed hopefully, "Again!" She glanced nervously over at Sailor Autumn, who still clung to the tree.

The _umbra_ lurched and shot pink energy at them from its eyes, but both girls leapt out of the way.

They rounded back on the creature and attacked:

"Sparkling Wide Pressure!"

"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"

It gave an eerie shriek and its eyes grew dimmer still.

Suddenly, a cluster of shining leaves shot past them and struck the creature, which shrieked again and finally faded away. Both Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon rushed forward to Chibiusa and knelt down beside her.

"Chibiusa," Sailor Moon asked, "Are you okay?"

The little girl moaned and opened her eyes. She murmured, "Sure…"

"You were attacked by one of those new enemies," Sailor Jupiter explained.

With their help, Chibiusa slowly sat up, tilting her head, she said, "I think someone is coming."

Both Jupiter and Moon frantically scanned the area. While Sailor Autumn had disappeared, three harmless-looking figures pushed through the brush not far off. Quickly, both shed their transformations and helped Chibiusa to stand.

Soon, Toukan, Hayaru, and Isuzu stepped out of the shadows and into view near them.

Isuzu sighed with relief, "I'm so glad you're okay Chibiusa! When I heard you scream, I went back to camp to get help, but I guess they got here first."

"What happened anyway," Hayaru asked gently.

Still shaking a little, Chibiusa lied, "When I was getting sticks, a fox or something jumped out at me."

Usagi, pretending to be startled, squealed. Makoto suppressed a groan in response.

"Did it hurt you?" Toukan asked as she squinted at her, concerned.

"No," she stammered, "I don't think so. I guess it ran away when I screamed, but I tripped and fell into that brush. I think I'm a little scraped up."

Toukan laughed awkwardly, "You really are getting your scrapes of this trip."

"Why don't we get back to camp before it gets too dark," Makoto urged, breaking silence. The others nodded and they picked their way back to camp, gathering sticks and bark as they went.

Back at the camp, they found Imahodo sitting on a stump near the beginnings of a campfire with a full bucket of water. She grinned broadly and stiffly rose to meet them, "Oh thank goodness! You found her! I must have gone the wrong direction," she paused, glancing up at the sky, "But I did manage to get a fire going to filter enough water for dinner when I found my way back. Is everything okay now?"

Chibiusa nodded hesitantly.

"Well," Toukan said at last, "Let's get some dinner going!"

Fire crackled and crickets chirped as the seven girls lounged on logs around the campfire.

"Ah!" Chibiusa yelped, "My marshmallow is on fire! Someone put it out!" Panicked, she frantically waved her stick, while Usagi leaned out of the way of the flaming marshmallow on the tip.

Makoto grabbed the stick and blew it out. "It's all good now," she said, handing the stick back.

Chibiusa scrunched up her face and poked the blackened marshmallow, "It's ruined."

Imahodo laughed a little, "No it isn't. It's just crispier!"

"You want it?" Chibiusa asked skeptically.

"Sure," Imahodo answered and pulled out some graham crackers and chocolate before Chibiusa handed over the stick. In return, she gave the younger girl another marshmallow for another try.

Toukan simply sat to the side, feeding and prodding the campfire as needed. Her skin prickled instinctively but she could not discern why.

Makoto kept close to Usagi and Chibiusa but did not interact with any of the others. Imahodo reached out to everyone except Isuzu. While Isuzu's older sister had never been very friendly to Imahodo, she never avoided the girl's younger sister.

Patiently, Toukan browned her marshmallow, keeping a sharp ear and eye to the darkened woods around them.

"Kai."

"What have you to report."

"I failed, but I may have discovered something."

"Perhaps this will redeem you. Speak on."

"I may have discovered the identities of Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter."

"Excellent Norai. I will hope that they do not know you. We will investigate them further. This does put a lovely twist on things."

"I am glad, Kai."

"The question is now: how soon do we kill them?"


End file.
